274 



MY LIFE 



[Chap. 



and in this region of forests they can travel hundreds of 

 miles without requiring to do so, so that they are almost as 

 independent of the earth as are the swifts and the humming- 

 birds. They vary in size from the little marmosets, not so 

 large as a squirrel, up to the howling monkeys the size of a 

 large shepherd's dog. Of what are commonly termed wild 

 beasts the jaguar or onga (somewhat similar to a leopard, but 

 stouter) is the most powerful and dangerous, and is very 

 destructive to horses and cattle. The puma (often called the 

 American lion), though equally large, is much less dangerous. 

 Tapirs, agoutis, armadillos, and sloths are not uncommon, but 

 are very rarely seen. Birds are very abundant, and many 

 are exceedingly beautiful. Macaws, parrots, toucans, trogons, 

 chatterers, and tanagers, are all common, and often of the 

 most gorgeous colours, while the lovely little humming-birds, 

 though not so numerous as in the mountain districts, are to 

 be seen in every garden. In the islands of Mexiapa and 

 Marajo, those splendid birds the scarlet ibis and the roseate 

 spoonbill abound, together with great numbers of storks, 

 herons, ducks, divers, and other aquatic birds ; while in the 

 forests of the mainland the fine crested curassows and the 

 elegant trumpeters are among the larger ground-feeders. 



" Lizards swarm everywhere in a variety of strange forms 

 — the curious geckos, which can walk about the ceilings by 

 means of suckers on their toes ; the large iguanas, which cling 

 to branches by their prehensile tails, and whose flesh is a 

 delicacy ; and the large ground lizards, three or four feet long. 

 Frogs of all kinds abound, and some of the little tree frogs 

 are so gaily coloured as to be quite pretty. The rivers are 

 full of turtles of many kinds, one of the largest being very 

 plentiful and as delicate eating as the well-known marine 

 turtle of City feasts. Snakes, though not often seen, are 

 really very numerous, but comparatively few are poisonous. 



" Fish abound in all the rivers, and many of them are of the 

 very finest quality. One very large fish, called the pirarucu, 

 is three or four feet long, and when slightly salted and dried 

 in the sun can be kept for any time, and takes the place of 

 salt cod, kippered haddocks, and red herrings in Europe. 



